Mine of My Own
by SpacemanSpiff
Summary: Jonathan Swepps seems to have a nack for playing the most boring game on the planet: Minesweeper. Surprisingly, his talent soon finds its calling as a wealthy corporation starts the World Wide Minesweeper Championships. Is he ready to follow his dream?


A/N: You know, I never, EVER, thought I'd find myself writing about something like Minesweeper. I didn't even know there was a section for this game because I figured no one would ever write about it. What is there to write about right? That's exactly what I thought. But I was proven wrong after reading a few of the fics here in this section, and I must say I was absolutely inspired to make something out of this game. I actually had a lot of fun with this because it's the first time I've ever really had to take a completely new concept, original plot and original characters, and make a story out of it. I hope I get to continue this (i have a ton of other projects I'm working on, plus college on top of that). I think this will turn into quite an interesting story, but that's just me. Who knows, it might be a dud, but oh well. At least I can say I did it, hehe. I figured, if someone can turn the game Asteroids into a good piece of fiction then I could certainly do the same with Minesweeper. And hopefully you all will enjoy it. If not then that's cool. This was just an inspired piece and it might be all I can ever come up with, but I will try to keep up with it. If there is anything you'd like to comment on, criticize, or correct in this fic then please feel free to do so (even flames. hell they're just fun to read). I guess that's all I've got to say so...Enjoy!

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**_- Prologue -_**

_End Game_

            *

            _This is it...it's finally over_

            The sweat poured down his face like a faucet torn from the sink, raining profusely from his brow, filling his shirt already soggy from the perspiration leaking from his armpits. Most of it was due to the all the spot lights falling heavy on his shoulders, making everything seem so humid, raising his body temperature a few degrees at least. You would've thought he had a fever, but he was far from sick, he was ecstatic. The rest of this sweat had come from nerves, some still tied up in various spots around his body. But they were slowly loosening, for he knew what was happening, and he knew that he had won this day. Moments like these came once in a lifetime.

            _Manny...this one is for you_

            Taking the flag in his hand, he proudly lifted it high into the artificial stars in the metallic sky, the lights hanging in the rafters, and screams erupted from every corner of the stadium, mountains of people rising in unison. This was the moment he had been waiting for, ever since the day he had heard about this game, ever since he could remember. He couldn't even hear the roar of the crowd, his senses completely tuned to this mission he had made of all of this, and he wondered if he would ever experience anything like this again. He knew he would play this game again, but he couldn't help but think that this was the final moment of glory that he would ever truly taste. And it tasted so good, too. He would talk about it for years to come, no matter how many more times he would win, for nothing ever feels as good as it does the first time. Especially the feeling that he had just beaten everyone who had opposed him, not only his opponents in this game, but all those who told him this was stupid or that it would never mean anything for his future. He didn't care about his future. Hell, he was only seventeen, and he still had his whole life ahead of him. He had never had the intentions of making this his goal in life, but if it meant giving him all the happiness in the world then he would do it. No one could take that away from him, and certainly not now...not ever.

            _It's all I ever dreamed of, and I..._ his thoughts breaking up as he started to hear the screams, started to see the cameras flashing like meteor showers down the upper decks, and he could see faces gleaming in anticipation. It was so overwhelming, and he couldn't explain it, but he didn't want to let go of that flag. _...I don't want it to end._

            It's hard to let go of those moments, those slow motion seconds of life where everything rains down on you in waves of ecstasy. But when those seconds start to return to normal speed, you realize that nothing lasts forever, and everything has an end. Just like this game had to end, right here, and right now. His hand reluctantly dropped down to his side, the wavering streamer flapping in its resistance, and he could feel the sweat seeping between his palms and the metal of the pole. The crowd was still in uproar, but he blocked it out again, knowing he would have plenty of time to listen to all of this later, after he finished this. 

            He bent down on a knee, staring down through the Plexiglas he was standing on, the digital screen showing through on the other side portraying a single gray tile. In the corner of the glass square was a small hole, perfectly rounded for the flag he held in his hand, and it seemed to go on forever into some void of space beneath him. He reached out for it, his hand shaking lightly, sending ripples up and down the fabric of the flag as the metal pole found the invisible cylinder and slid smoothly down through the glass, into the electranode that rested at the bottom of the silicate tunnel. The signal was sent from that square to the mainframe and the flag appeared on the mammoth video screen that sat large at the north end of the stadium. But he didn't even care to look, for it served no purpose now. He could see it in his mind, on the back of his eyelids as they fell over his eyes for a long second. He stood slowly from his knees, lifting his body as though the weight of the world could not hold the pride that powered his legs. He opened his eyes and the most satisfying grin stretched across his face, beaming in harmony with every spot light and every pulsating camera exposure. 

            "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS IT!! HE ONLY HAS ONE SQUARE LEFT TO TAP AND HE WILL GO HOME A CHAMPION!!"

            The announcer's voice rang out across the stadium, bouncing off concrete and flesh alike, resonating deep in the heart of this building. He could feel it in his bones, and it excited him to no end, but he held back the temptation to start going insane with joy. His feet calmly left the floor and fell softly forward, into another Plexiglas square that sat in the corner of this massive grid that he had walked through. His foot had touched every square, all nine hundred of them, and he almost wished this didn't have to end here, with this last square...in this corner. He hated ending in this corner. 

           Nevertheless, as he planted both of this feet firmly into this square, a solid pillar of light rising up from underneath him, he held the controller in his other hand with utmost confidence. Though he worried he might drop it from his shaky wrist and the perspiration flooding his fingers, he managed to throw those worries away. This was the last square and it ended with one swift movement of his finger, just like that. That was all he would have to do to make this room explode with cheer, emotion, fanfare, and everything else imaginable to come with the end of any big game. And this was the biggest game the world had seen in a long time...and he was deep in the center, the core of this fulmination.

            Standing in this beam of light, he seemed god-like, as his features lit up in a cloud of white, and he didn't even feel the heat anymore. If anything he felt the chill of everything that had happened to lead him up to this point, not just in this game alone, but what had to be sacrificed and what what he had lost along the way. He couldn't believe it, but he actually felt a little depressed, even though he was standing on the edge of every dream he could ever think of. Bits and pieces of him wished this had never happened, or maybe that things had just happened differently, but he couldn't change the past and he was beginning to realize that a little more every second. He tried to sweep these pieces of his mind away, saving them for some other time when he didn't have the world watching him from every angle. His face never faltered to show what struggle had just emerged in his head, and no one could've ever known just what he was thinking at that last moment because his smile only widened in the bright light. 

            This was the final moment, the last time he would know such silence as he heard at that moment when every voice that sprang from someone's mouth was lost before it ever reached him. Some refer to such a state as nirvana, or halcyon, but there was only one word he could use to describe it: heaven. And the gates of heaven stood ready to open at the turn of the key that he held in his hand, the detonator waiting to have its button pushed. His finger slid over the sleek plastic controller and it rested just over the red button that sat in its center. He was hesitant, but only for a moment as he glanced down at the elliptical device cradled in his hand, just thinking how it all rested in this last move. The thought didn't last long at all, as he turned his gaze up into the rafters, taking a last look at the haze of infinite colors above, before closing his eyes and his finger fell upon the little red button. The stadium lights disappeared, and everything fell into endless darkness for a split second.

            _I've done it_

            The room ignited once more in brilliant explosions and sprays of fireworks, sparks and multi-colored spotlights bouncing wild all around the walls and floors. It was so intense that he didn't know if he could take it all in at that moment, but it washed over him peacefully, and he felt something he had never felt before: complete. 

            "THAT'S IT! HE'S DONE IT! JONATHAN SWEPPS HAS BECOME THE FIRST EVER WORLD WIDE MINESWEEPER CHAMPION!! AND WHAT A CHAMPION HE IS, AT ONLY SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD HE..."

            The announcer could've gone on forever, but the crowd was quickly drowning him out, as if they were really paying attention to him anyhow. Those in the stands were so loud that the foundation seemed to shake under their feet as they jumped up and down, making all the noise they could possibly make. Those at the front row, taking the seats just around the grid were madly scrambling onto the tremendous terrain of the playing arena, charging in a mad stampede to get to their champion. He soon found the controller slip from his hands as he turned to the mass of his friends and family rushing towards him in all of their cheer and joy, and he welcomed it with open arms. His closest friends fell into his embrace as others surrounded him with their veneration. Normally he would've been overwhelmed by all of this, but he realized that he had wanted this ever since he had started playing this game, and he was finally receiving everything he ever wanted. All this love and adoration was what he had always been craving, and now he was taking it all in one sweet moment of life. Heaven didn't even seem a worthy title to this feeling, and he would've given anything to have it last forever. 

            "Jon!! You did it!! You're the champion!!" 

            His friends screamed at him in their joy and he could hear them so well, but they all ran together in his ears as a jumbled mess. But he knew what they were saying, and he knew what they were feeling, too. This was just as exciting for them to be here with him in this blissful moment. 

            "I love you guys!! We're going to Disney World after all this!!"

            He figured they probably hadn't heard him yell the words, seeing as he could hardly comprehend them himself even coming from his own mouth. The noise was louder than anything he had ever heard, and he had created it. He had set off this explosion of outcries for his victory, and they overflowed inside and out of the walls and halls throughout the stadium. He couldn't believe that this was all for him, all for his victory. Though through all of the noise, the only screams he cared about were of those around him, hugging him with their jubilation. They eventually hoisted him up with all of their strength, placing him on the shoulders of one of his bigger friends. As he sat there, those closest to him gazing up as though he were God for a minute, he waved to all the rest, acknowledging their cheer as well. In that moment he actually realized just how amazing this place was, lit up in brilliant patterns of light, filled with hundreds of thousands of other people who very well could've been here in his place, and how every pair of eyes was locked on him at that very moment. It pulled some strong emotions out of him, and he actually felt a few tears spill from the corners of his eyes, trailing down his cheek softly until it fell from his chin, leaving a few small spots on his jeans. This was life bursting out of him, and he loved it.

            "Jonathon!! Jonathan Swepps!! If we could have a few words!!"

            Some reporters had managed to wedge their way through the crowd that had encased him like worshippers to an idol. A camera was facing up at him, and woman with microphone stood patiently for an answer. He tapped his friend's shoulder, and he was lowered down to her level. He stood confidently before the camera, wiping away what was left of the tears on his face, still smiling wider than his face could handle. He motioned for her to ask her burning question that she had risked getting shoved off the board to ask.

            "Jonathan, you've just won the World Wide Minesweeper Championship! Do you have anything you'd like to say to the world right now?!"

            The question was so broad, yet so specific, and for a moment he really didn't know exactly how to answer it. But he soon found just what he was looking for, as he felt the bulge in his breast pocket, a slender arm of a pair of sunglasses peeking out over the edge. He reached for them and slowly pulled them out, extending their arms as he wiped the lenses off on his sleeve. Before ever putting them on, he took a strong glance at the camera, the microphone mere inches from his mouth.

            "My name is Jonny Swepps!" he boldy stated, feeling like he could run the world from behind that microphone. He cooly slid the shades over his eyes before he said his last words, "And you've just been swept away!"

            The camera caught every bit of his strength, courage, and pride in that one shot, and through the reflection in the center of both lenses of his sunglasses sat a large yellow circle with a smile and a pair of shades. That was the day that Jonathan Swepps realized that dreams could come true, and he was glad he had followed this one, ever since it had begun only one year ago...

...the day that his dream became reality.


End file.
